| 15 February 2010
Tennis took place on several fronts this past week, with the men playing in Rotterdam, San Jose and Brasil, and if that isn't far-flung enough for all of you then we could add the women in Paris and Pataya. They may be smaller events, but the action was quite compelling nonetheless
For me the highlight of the week was Mikhail Youzhny's stellar run into the final in Rotterdam. Where has this guy been all my life? He played some really wonderful tennis, dusting off both Gael Monfils in the quarterfinals and the Number One seed, Novak Djokovic in the semis.
Youzhny is one of a handful of players who has always seemed a bit out of synch from how the other guys play on the tour, which is to say that he actually has a lot of variety going on with his game. I often don't know how to categorize these players, among whom we could also include Radek Stepanek. They don't just hang out interminably on the baseline trying to bludgeon their opponents to death. They actually try to mix up their play.
It also helps that they can serve well. In Youzhny's case, his serving was exceptional. But it's not a big or spectacular serve, just a very capably executed one when it counts. His toss goes straight up, to the same place every time, and it appears therefore a difficult serve to read. He placed it all over the serving box as well.
Youzhny has a sturdy, compact-looking body so his shots have a certain muscular heft to them. But he also shows a surprising grace in his shot-making, especially with that backhand. The man may like to celebrate after winning matches with his military-style salute, but he's got more than a touch of the artiste about his game. I don't get to see Youzhny play often enough I guess, and I had forgotten what a gorgeous one-hander the Russian has. Federer could not have used the backhand any better than Youzhny did this week. He can slice it, he can drive it, he can hit it up the line. One-handers are gorgeous to start with in my book, but Youzhny's is just a sinfully disgusting shot it's so beautiful.
Youzhny's best match was in the semi-final against Djokovic, who should have won the entire kaboodle last Sunday but his game just wasn't quite fully there. Youzhny's fantastic serving and deft use of the backhand in particular kept the Serbian star looking visibly perplexed.
After the first set went to Youzhny in a tiebreaker, I felt a bit sad for Djokovic and wondered if he could assert himself into the match. Did he think (or hope) that the level of Youzhny's play would tail off? He probably realized at the start of the second set that the Russian was here to stay, and Novak would have to beat him. There would be no freebies today.
Djokovic was continually just a step behind the Russian, who just never let up and stayed focused on his game right up to the last point. The second set tiebreaker was another nailbiter, and I started to wonder what would happen if Youzhny blinked and let Djokovic take the second set. It was quite likely the Serb would gain confidence and roll right through the third set and take the win in the end. Youzhny didn't let up, and slammed the door in his face.
The score was 7-6, 7-6.
Sadly, as often happens with the lower-ranked players who suddenly find themselves on a given week in stratospheric territory, Youzhny's firetruck ran out of steam in the final. His body broke down, and even a lengthy visit from the trainer could not pull the Russian toward a completed match. A hamstring injury forced his retirement against Sweden's Robin Soderling.
Soderling had shown pretty decent form as the week went on, so it felt good to see the two best guys end up in the final. Nikolay Davydenko should probably have made the final along with Djokovic, since he was the Number Two seed, but he looked oddly ineffectual against the Swede. Soderling just pummeled Davydenko with his serve, and overpowered him with those big roundhouse-swinging forehands he can hit. I wonder how his elbow holds up with those big swipes, which are hit with the arm nearly completely straight.
I am a fan of Soderling's for sure now, it's good to have a Swede back in the mix to root for, I think he may even surprise all of us and grab a Slam title someday. His game can still be scratchy at times and maddeningly inconsistent, but he's a big enough guy that when he gets on a roll - like for a two-week period in a Slam - he can serve big enough and hit enough huge forehands for long enough to bother nearly everyone on the tour.
I did not like Youzhny's chances in the final, in spite of how well he ran to get there. Soderling was looking too good in his semi-final win over Davydenko to be denied, and plus his body was still healthy. Youzhny tried to make a match of it, the guys traded breaks in the first set but the Russian could not go further. He retired early in the second set.
A shame, that, but still a stellar week for the Russian, who jumps from Number 20 to 15 in the world, and not too shabby for a Swede either, who grabbed his fifth tour title and holds onto Number 8 in the rankings.
Go guys, build on what you gave us this week!
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